Humanity, culture and art

Video

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:53:15 -0400

Video

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:50:04 -0400

Huge manhunt for Boston bomb suspect

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:27:00 -0400

Gunfire has been reported in Boston suburb of Watertown as police hunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, who they say was the second suspect in Monday’s Marathon bombing.

Photo

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 14:30:09 -0400

Photo

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:55:53 -0500

johnjlm: I love these. Fuck you, Mitt.

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 10:38:27 -0400

johnjlm:

I love these.

Fuck you, Mitt.

كردستان و مواجهه دائمى با امر قدسى

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 20:05:12 -0400

بيش از سى سال از برپايى سامانه سياسى ايديولوژيك ايران مى گذرد. در تمامى اين سى و اندى سال، دستگاه رسانه اى اين ايديولوژى، در پى مقدس سازى نظريه ولايت فقيه و سامانه حقوقى و سياسى جمهورى اسلامى بوده است. واژه هاى انقلاب، قيام، جنگ، شهيد و … تنها به واقعه خاص يا مفهوم ويژه اى اشاره نمى كنند، بلكه در طى فرايند افسون سازى از واقعه هاى انقلاب و جنگ، به نفع ايديولوژى حاكم مصادره شده اند. اسطوره، روح تپنده غايب در جهان خشك و هندسى مدرن، وارد كالبد واژگانى مى شود كه تا پيش از اين، كمابيش يك واقعه و يا يك نظريه بودند. انچه كه افسون سازى انجام مى دهد، به حاشيه راندن صورت عريان واقعه و محتواى آن و برجسته كردن تفسير حماسى از آن است. تاثير افسون سازى از واقعه ها، مفاهيم، نظريه ها و عقايد بر فرآيند ادراك آدمى به قدرى است كه كاهنان، راهبان و روحانيان را كه مصدر تفسير اسطوره ها هستند، به بالاترين مقام هاى اجتماعى و سياسي رسانده است. قدرتى كه حماسه بر فهم آدمى اعمال مى كند به قدرى است كه كشاورز آمريكايى با آگاهى كامل از سياست هاى اقتصادى، به گروهى سياسى راى مي دهد كه بيشترين نزديكى را با افسانه سرزمين و مسيح دارند، حتى با علم به اين واقعيت كه بازنده سياست هاى اقتصادى خود او خواهد بود، اما باور به اينكه فرد مورد نظر مملو از روح مقدس است، او را متقاعد مى سازد كه به شخص مورد نظر راى دهد. تجربه امر قدسى و شدت آن، بسيار مهمتر از زمينه مادى آن است. آبراهه خليج فارس تنها يك آبراهه است، اما در طى فرآيند افسون سازى از سرزمين، به محلى براى منازعات ميان-ملتى تبديل شده است. افسانه قوم آريايى،با چنان شدتى توسط نازى ها تجربه مى شد كه واقعه هلوكاست را پديد آورد و حادثه هلوكاست، خود در بستر تاريخ، به حماسه ملت يهود مبدل گشت و جوان يهودى امروزى، اگر چه با محتواى مادى هلوكاست بيگانه است، اما به شدت متاثر از نيرويى است كه تفسير حماسى هلوكاست بر او دارد. حماسه ها، نه محصولات تاريخي كه تفسير يك ملت از تاريخ شان هستند، به عبارت ديگر، ملت ها تاريخ شان را از دريچه افسانه ها تفسير مى كنند و نه بالعكس، و نيز افسانه ها، نه تنها شكل تاويل شده گذشته، بلكه راهنما و چراغ آينده يك ملتند. افسانه كوروش كبير، نه تنها از تاريخ حاصل نمي شود، بلكه خود بر سازنده تاريخ پر افتخار سرزمين آريايى با رهبرى است كه تمامى خصايل يك رهبر عادل غربى، و مزين به اخلاق مسلط يهودى-مسيحى را دارد. كوروش كبير و سرزمين آريايى، شكلى از گذشته است كه به طريقي تاويل مى شود كه در بر دارنده آرزو هاى جمعى يك ملت در رابطه با مقصد نهايى آن ملت است.
اما چگونه هست كه اسطوره با چنين شدتى در عصر كنونى حاضر است؟ عینیت که هدف علم اخیر قرار گرفته بود، تنها با جدا کردن انسان از طبیعت می توانست حاصل آید، به عبارت دیگر انسان اندیشمندی که به واکاویِ طبیعتِ فاقدِ ذهن می پردازد، در مقابلِ انسانی قرار می گیرد که خود را در پیوند و آمیختگی با طبیعتِ ذی شعور از طریق معانی و شعائر می بیند. از این رهگذر، آسمانی که روزگاری مملو از اساطیر و تصاویر و حرکت و هیجان بود، اکنون به فضایی خالی، لا شعور و یکدست و هندسی بدل شده بود. بدین ترتیب تاثر حسّی که متضمّن آمیختگی با طبیعت بود، جای خود را به برداشت عقلی از طبیعت همراه با جدایی از آن می دهد و از این روی آگاهی اسطوره ای که بر پایه یِ تاثیر مستقیم حسی ایجاد می شود، بی مصداق می گردد.
بدین ترتیب با بی اعتبار شمردنِ تاثر حسی و به تبعِ آن آگاهیِ اسطوره ای، افسون زدایی و عینی گراییِ علمی همنوا می گردند و «خردِ غربی»- به قولِ وبر - قائم به خویش، دست اندرکار پی ریزی گونه ای جهان بینیِ متمایز با جهان بینی اسطوره ای، یعنی جهان بینی تئوریک می شود. امّا این همه یِ ماجرا نیست. اسطوره و آگاهیِ اسطوره ای، برای همیشه در پستویِ آگاهیِ بشر مدفون نشده است و افسون زدگی، در برهه هایی از حیاتِ جهان مدرن از جمله در چند د هه یِ اخیر با قدرت رخ نموده است و هیجان و تپندگی ای را که «خردِ ابزاری شده» فاقد آن است، به روحِ آدمی عرضه می دارد. خرد روشنگری از قلمروِ تاثرِ بی واسطه یِ حسّی کوچیده است و عواطف را چونان اُبژه ای خارج از آدمی می بیند یا به قول آدورنو و هورکهایمر در کتابِ «دیالکتیکِ روشنگری» ، روشنگری عواطف را چنان بررسی می کند «که گویی خطوط، سطوح یا جامدات را بررسی می کند.». این جاست که همان تمایز نیچه ای در رابطه با فرهنگ و هنر و خاستگاهِ آن را می توان به تمامِ عصر روشنگری تعمیم داد، یعنی غلبه یِ وجه آپولونیِ فرهنگ بر وجهِ دیونیزوسیِ آن، به عبارت دیگر، نظم و قانونمندی، وضح و دقت و فردگرایی به همراه حرکت به سویِ کمال و نیز خویشتن داری و کفس نفس در مقابلِ وزن و آهنگ، حرکت و شور و هیجان و تغییر و دگرگونی و وجد و مستی و آفرینش و ویرانگری قرار می گیرد و به نیروی غالب و ارزش هایِ روشنگری بدل می شود. امّا خام اندیشی است اگر بپنداریم که اسطوره و خرد، امروزه در ساختاری سلسله مراتبی و با تقدّم و تاخّر تاریخی حاضر گشته اند، بلکه هر دو همزمان در آگاهیِ بشری حاضرند. بشرِ کنونی، شور روحیِ خود را از اسطوره وام می گیرد و نظام عقلانیِ حیاتِ اقتصادیِ خود را به یاریِ «خردِ ابزاری» سامان می دهد.
كردستان و مطالبه افسون زدايى از امر سياسى
به عقيده من، مطالبه كردهايى مانند من، نه پايان ايديولوژى جمهورى اسلامى، بلكه پايان فرآيند اسطوره سازى از مفاهيم و تركيب آن با امر سياسى است. يكى از مفاهيم رايج حقوقى كه به شدت در فرآيند افسون سازى، قدسى شده است، مساله تماميت ارضى است. تماميت ارضى از نگاه فعالين سياسى كرد، نه امرى قدسى، بلكه مساله اى است حقوقى كه در تمامى كشورهايى كه كردها در آن فعال هستند، مورد احترام قرار دارد. افسون سازى از مفهوم حقوقى تماميت ارضى در تركيه سكولار، وضعيتى را به وجود آورده بود كه براى دهه ها، كردها از ساده ترين و ابتدايى ترين حقوق خود محروم بودند، به شكلى كه حكومت تركيه تمامى نشانه هاى حكومت توتاليتر فاشيستى را در خود داشت. تركيه سكولار و برى از افسانه مذهب، نيروى متحد كننده را سرزمين مقدس تعيين كرده بود و بر خلاف اروپا كه يكپارچگى را در كثرت تفسير مى كرد و روح افسانه سرزمين را نه در امر سياسي كه در زندگى جمعى مى دميد، راه فاشيسم را در پيش گرفت. ترس من از آينده ايران پس از جمهورى اسلامى، استقرار سامانه اى است كه يكپارچگى را نه در گوناگونى فرهنگى كه در انكار يكباره فرهنگ مستقل بجويد. به عبارت ديگر، ترس من استقرار سامانه اى مانند تركيه است كه افسانه سرزمين و ملت، راه به فاشيسم مى برد و اميد من رسيدن به بلوغ تحليلى است كه اجازه نمى دهد امر سياسى افسون زده شود و كشتار و انكار، به بهانه افسانه توجيه شود. مشكل اختلاط مذهب و سياست نيست، مشكل اختلاط امر مقدس است با سياست، خواه مذهب باشد، خواه سرزمين

"art happens when you least expect it"

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:00:49 -0400

“art happens when you least expect it”

- Test

test

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:56:47 -0400

test

Nice to see social media is replacing mass media! People, let's talk and give peace a chance

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 07:49:55 -0400

Nice to see social media is replacing mass media! People, let's talk and give peace a chance

ORIGINAL Elephant Painting (by ExoticWorldGifts) This elephant...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 06:45:00 -0400

ORIGINAL Elephant Painting (by ExoticWorldGifts)

This elephant dude is doing a good job

China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 03:40:00 -0400

China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative High-Income Society

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/2012/02/27/china-2030-executive-summary

Highly recommended

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 22:21:30 -0400

Highly recommended

New poll shows Americans favor diplomacy over war with Iran

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:24:00 -0400

shortformblog:

69% of Americans prefer a diplomatic approach instead of an Israeli attack on Iran, according to a new poll from the University of Maryland

38% of Republicans polled favor military action by the Israeli government, a percentage likely to surprise experts and policymakers

17% of Democrats and independents polled agreed with their Republican counterparts, preferring military action over diplomacy source

Read ShortFormBlog • Follow

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 01:55:00 -0400

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com:

The two Israeli guests (who have a better grasp of regional dynamics than the American so-called “experts”) speak against military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. And moreover, it sounds amusing to see how Netanyahu plays the “existential threat” card to distract the public opinion from domestic issues (High living costs), the exact same card that ruling elite plays in Iran to distract Iranians from high inflation and unemployment rate. That’s why I’m saying these hawks are all strategic partners. It’s all “game theory”.

Mainstream media failure on Iran's nuke program

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 04:32:00 -0400

Mainstream media failure on Iran's nuke program:

I came across this article and found the number 9 very sad…The price of oil is more important for us than the life of human beings. How insensitive people are…

Crisis-Managing U.S.-Iran Relations

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:36:35 -0500

Crisis-Managing U.S.-Iran Relations:

garysick:

cfr.org

Crisis-Managing U.S.-Iran Relations

by GARY G. SICK, BERNARD GWERTZMAN • MARCH 6, 2012

Interviewee: Gary G. Sick, Senior Research Scholar, Columbia University
Interviewer: Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor, CFR.org
March 6, 2012

The results of Iran’s March 2 parliamentary elections have bolstered the position of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with a majority of seats going to his allies (NYT). Khamenei will now likely move to end the presidential system to further consolidate “his power as the ultimate leader in Iran,” says Iran expert Gary Sick. Sick, who was the principal White House aide for Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979-1981—when Iranians seized the staff of the U.S. embassy in Tehran—says he favors a process similar to the one that ended that crisis to resolve today’s tensions over Iran’s controversial nuclear program. Just as the United States and Iran negotiated then through a mediator, Algeria, Sick recommends that they use a go-between to discuss the nuclear issue. “Doing it through somebody else actually is a much more effective way of making progress with the Iranians,” he says, “and the Iranians feel much more comfortable with it that way also.” Sick proposes the Turkish government could be well-suited to play the mediator’s role.

How do you read the results of the Iranian elections?

[T]here is a very real possibility that Iran will do away with the presidential system.

The real measure of a free election is one in which there’s a possibility of surprise. And in this case, there was no possibility of surprise. The regime controlled who was permitted to run, and basically it hand-picked the people that they thought were acceptable to the ruling elite led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Council of Guardians, and not supporting President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad.

The regime controlled the media totally, so no stories appeared that in any way challenged the underlying premise, which was that you should vote and express your views against the foreigners that are trying to undercut the regime, and display your loyalty to the supreme leader.

And thirdly, the regime controlled the counting of the ballots. Earlier, Khamenei and others had confidently predicted that 65 percent of the people would vote, and the number of voters who turned out, according the media, was 64.6 percent of the population.

Do we know if the number of votes is inflated?

That doesn’t mean that it’s not true, but it certainly raises questions. Khamenei suggested last year that Iran really didn’t need a presidential system. If you look at the outcome of the vote, you have Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, who was the top vote-getter in the Tehran district, which is the most prestigious of all the districts in Iran. And he would become the next speaker of the Majlis very likely, because of his vote total and because of his close association with Khamenei. His daughter is married to Khamenei’s son. If the figures are right and the outcome is as it appears, with a significant majority of the people committed to the direct support of Khamenei, it means that [Khamenei] will have a Majlis that is completely his own.

Will Khamenei seek the end of the presidential system?

[In the 1997] presidential elections, Mohammad Khatami [was] elected, who was a surprise and really tried to reform the system. It took the hardliners a long time to squash that movement. It was put down for good, at least for the time being, in June 2009, with the suppression of the Green Movement after the contested elections. There’s every reason to think it would be a lot easier to run that country, from Khamenei’s point of view, if he didn’t have the problem of presidential elections, which actually can lead to that kind of uprising and furor.

[T]here is very good evidence that somebody from the outside is supporting dissident movements within Iran.

So, if the Majlis, which he has handpicked, in fact vote on a prime minister of his choice, somebody who can be kicked out again by the Majlis if he doesn’t work out too well, [it] would seem to be a great solution from his point of view. So there is a very real possibility that Iran will do away with the presidential system. There really is no surprise about any of this. I would like to regard this as one further step in Khamenei’s consolidation of his power as the ultimate leader in Iran, and I only qualify that to say that he’s there only by the grace of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

The main issue on the table regarding Iran right now is the controversy brewing over its nuclear program. What is Iran’s position vis-à-vis negotiations with the West?

Iran has sent a letter to Catherine Ashton, vice president of the European Commission, who represents the permanent five members of the Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) that have been the negotiating entity with Iran. Iran said it was prepared to meet for negotiations, and they made it very clear that they want this to be without preconditions, i.e., they will not accept a negotiation agenda in which it is determined in advance that the result is going to be Iran giving up all of its uranium enrichment capabilities. They’re not going to do that.

But if the P5+1 accepts no precondition with regards to negotiations, then Iran is prepared to meet with the P5+1 to discuss all issues, and that would include the nuclear issue. The P5+1 have agreed to that, in principle, and there’s a possibility that there could be a negotiating session by the end of March. It’s not certain that that will happen, but it could.

Is this a sign of flexibility by Iran?

It is a real change, and it is partly brought on by the most crippling sanctions they have faced thus far. It’s obviously having an impact on their economy. The reverse side is if the European oil embargo sanctions go into effect, as they are supposed to by the middle of this year, there is a very real chance that Iran will retaliate in some form. I don’t think Iran is going to retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz or launching a military strike. They will launch their own “weapon of mass destruction,” which is the price of oil.

For instance, since the first exchange of rhetoric about closing the Strait of Hormuz at the beginning of this year, oil prices have gone up almost 15 percent. That is not all due to the nuclear crisis, but a lot of it is. And uncertainty about what’s going to happen keeps the prices up. If, in fact, Iran loses half of its national revenue, which is what the current sanctions would do if they actually worked, that would be in effect economic warfare, and Iran would regard it as such.

My favorite negotiating process is not necessarily the P5+1, but the United States representing itself and its allies through a mediator.

Together with the Stuxnet virus, which was used to interfere with Iran’s centrifuges, not to mention the assassination of nuclear scientists in Tehran, there is very good evidence that somebody from the outside is supporting dissident movements within Iran. Most countries would regard that as “unfriendly,” if not actual warfare. Iran is going to see it the same [way], and they have something to be gained by keeping the price of oil as high as possible. If it is that way over a long period of time, [it] is going to kick the world back into, if not a recession [or] depression, at least another economic decline. President Obama suggested asmuch in his speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee when he said that the costs of a war with Iran far outweigh any benefits that might come from such a war.

Is there any possibility of a direct negotiation between the United States and Iran, or does the United States have to go through the P5+1 format?

The presence of the United States across the negotiating table from Iran is crucial. It doesn’t have to be bilateral, but basically the United States has to be fully on board in any decision that is taken, in any position that is negotiated. The Iranians know that, and so does everybody else.

My favorite negotiating process is not necessarily the P5+1, but the United States representing itself and its allies through a mediator. We have done this in the past with great success. People forget that this is the way the hostage crisis in 1979-81 was actually resolved, quite successfully.

In that case, the Iranians actually proposed the Algerians [as mediators]. The Algerians did a brilliant job, acting as go-betweens between the United States and Iran, because we simply couldn’t talk to each other. Even if we were sitting across the table from each other, we couldn’t talk to each other. Everything was done through the Algerians; all the communications, all the proposals, the counterproposals, the drafts.

We have Turkey now, which is a member of NATO, which is clearly interested in conducting a negotiation with Iran. They even have a successful track record. The Turks negotiated with Iran last year, got a deal to do a [fuel] swap that [the United States] had proposed. We turned [Iran] down because we were busy getting sanctions and we were afraid it would interfere with our sanctions process. There seems to be a reluctance on the part of the U.S. administration to use anybody else [as mediator in negotiations with Iran]. Doing it through somebody else actually is a much more effective way of making progress with the Iranians. And the Iranians feel much more comfortable with it that way also. This is an aspect of a problem that has gotten no public attention at all, and I really think it should.

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The Scale of the Universe 2

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:03:00 -0500

The Scale of the Universe 2:

The scale of the universe…great

Europe's Road to financial crisis

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:38:00 -0500

Europe's Road to financial crisis

Iran, U.S. need a crisis exit ramp

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:41:00 -0500

Iran, U.S. need a crisis exit ramp:

garysick:

At the link is my latest take on the crisis between the United States and Iran and what could be done to alleviate it. It is on the CNN Opinion page. It concludes:

U.S. policy has been one of pressure leading to negotiations. Iran has also pursued a dual-track policy of threats combined with offers of negotiation. These policies have resulted in the prospect of a war that would be disastrous to all. What we need right now is a crisis exit ramp. Perhaps this is the moment to explore the negotiating track that both sides say they prefer.